Innocent Eyes
by Achenar
Summary: A Selphie and Irvine romance songfic, based off Delta Goodrum's 'Innocent Eyes'. Basic sap, though not quite yet- this is only the first chapter.


**Disclaimer : I don't own FF8. Or Delta Goodrem's _Innocent Eyes_, which is the coolest song ever. ^_^**

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    _Do you remember when you were seven _
    
    _And the only thing that you wanted to do _
    
    _Was show your mum that you could play the piano _
    
    _Ten years have passed _
    
    _And the one thing that lasts_

_Is that same old song that we played along and made my mama cry_

It had always been there; an old, oft-dusty piano, supported on one side by a pair of bricks rather than the legs – which, apparently, had fallen off. Made of dark rosewood, delicate with age, even the oldest of the children were unable to remember a time when it hadn't sat in the corner of the playroom, usually covered by a faded purple rug, the bench pushed in so it was just another vague lump in the room. But even so, it held a presence, an imitation of splendour, which caused the room, when it was uncovered and in use, to have an air of glamour, rather than the colourless stone walls coloured only by semi-amusing crayon drawings taped randomly about the room.

Currently, it held the attention of two of the children, only around seven years of age; they sat, side by side, on the bench, eyes locked on a faded book, notes written in it in large print, which leant against the makeshift stand – actually a plastic plate holder, but probably never used for that purpose - set up atop it.

The children were playing the piano, clumsily, a little unsurely, young, laughing green eyed pixie carefully performing the treble while the slightly more solemn young cowboy, his face wrinkled with concentration, thumbed out the bass.

Together, the tunes intertwined; a simple song, admittedly, but as it drew to a close, the boy looked so proud of himself, busting with it, really, that the girl beside him, watching him, had to struggle to smother the giggle that rose in her throat at the look on his face.

"Seff, Seff, let's go get Matwon to come listen!"

"But Irwvy, I can't pway that good!"

"Yeah yoo can, silly! Come on! We can get _evewyone_ to come, too! We'll put on a show for 'em!"

Little Irvine was so caught up in his enthusiasm, bouncing on the balls off his feet with one little hand clasped around Selphie's that this time, she did giggle, softly, offering a big grin which displayed a missing front baby tooth. She let herself be caught up in the tide of her friend's wish to provide their makeshift family with entertainment, heading for the door with the boy in tow.

"Okay, Irwvy!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
    
    _Do you remember when you were fifteen_
    
    _And the kids at school called you a fool 'coz you took the chance to dream _
    
    _In the time that's past _
    
    _and the one thing that lasts _

_Is that same old song that we played along and made my daddy cry_

Another time, much later. Years. Nearly a decade, really.

Selphie, walking behind the tour guide that led her group, stopped talking animatedly to her friends as a song, familiar yet not from anywhere she could remember, infiltrated her senses; a haunting melody, certainly, but sounding wrong, as if it needed another player to complete it, to match up the tune with another to complement it.

The guide, her long black hair pulled into a severe plait, stopped talking after a moment, turning to look at her group a moment – as if startled by the possibility that they might have begun to actually listen to her – before continuing.

"Over here, we have a shortcut to the nexus; most students use this between classes, although it's actually frowned upon, as an alternative to the long path. I assume you'd have many of the sort at your own Garden."

Selphie – taller, now, older, too, around sixteen – brushed dust from her uniform. As the music – played on a guitar, from what she could hear, softly, as though the player had not their whole attention on the piece, as if the song was a mournful lament for the other player's absence – faded away, she shook her head gently and continued on, beginning to speak again to her friends, who, after watching her curiously for a moment, seemed partially relieved that she was back to herself, and replied, the conversation starting anew.

While Galbadia seemed like an interesting place, no amount of force would keep their attentions on the tour guide; she was the sort of person who could make an Esthar theme park seem like a prison, and the fact she'd been given the task of giving the tour was probably just some god's way of playing a small, harmless prank.

Maybe not harmless – they'd be given questions about what they'd learnt later. But they didn't know that.

Irvine blinked, coming out of his reverie as his guitar, which he had been idly strumming as he thought, was ripped unexpectedly from his hands. A bitter laugh from above him, rage barely controlled within its depths, caused his gaze to rise from the newcomer's shoes, hat falling back slightly to be propped against the tree he leant against.

One of his classmates, large, slightly beefy hands gripping the instrument carelessly, grinned in a manner best described as evilly. Well, maybe not quite evilly, but maliciously. Is that a word? It doesn't sound like one.

"Dreaming again, Irvine?" The slender boy's silence only seemed to further enhance the larger one's anger. "Of Dahlia, perhaps? You bastard. She was _mine_."

Only now did the cowboy speak, his voice a soft drawl that belied none of the fear that began to rise in his heart, ice-cold fingers clenching around his soul and digging inwards.

"She wasn't yours, man; never was. You know nothin' of wooing a girl, of treatin' her right. You couldn't have gotten her if you'd sold your soul to Hyne for her."

"Soul, huh? Y'know, the sluts say that your pride lies in your possessions..." The bully, unaware of the innuendo he'd just inadvertently caused, dropped his gaze deliberately to the guitar in his hands. "Shall we test that theory?"

With apparent care, he swung, smashing the wooden instrument against the tree above Irvine's head. As the delicate wood crushed easily under the pressure, the cowboy let out an anguished howl, leaping to his feet and slamming his fist into the older boy's jaw.

The yell elicited by the bully, of mixed pain and rage, sent Irvine running – a practiced skill, these days – and only now did tears, unbidden, begin to seep from the grey-blue – more grey than blue, as if echoing the slightly numb pain the boy felt at the loss of his prized guitar – depths of his eyes.

They partially blinded him; he barely noticed the group of female students in Trabian uniforms he barrelled into – until he knocked one sprawling. Immediately, despite fears of pursuit, he stopped. _A lady's man never hurts the ladies._

"Are you okay, girl? I'm so sorry. I never meant –" 

He broke off as the girl, bright green eyes dancing, laughed and bounced to her feet, initially grabbing his elbow long enough to regain her balance.

"I'm fine, really! ..Hey, what about you? You're crying?"

His answer, choked with a barely held back sob, echoed her own. "I'm fine."

And then he was gone; Selphie looked a little bewildered, and equally worried about the now-departed boy, before smiles wreathed her face once more.

"Bye!" _I wonder what that song was?_

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 
    
    _I miss those days and I miss those ways _
    
    _When I got lost in fantasies _
    
    _In a cartoon land of mysteries _

_In a place you won't grow old _

_In a place you won't feel cold and I'll sing_

That same song – still missing the melody of the treble clef, but no longer played with the same idleness – found its way to the same girls years, two, nearly three years later; hair flipped in her usual style, but wearing her SeeD uniform with shiny new 'messenger' tabs attached to one shoulder, Selphie was walking along the guest hallway, when she heard it.

Bright green eyes widened in recognition; her bouncy step sped up, as, the stack of papers in her arms forgotten in this new quest, she followed the sound, clunky boots clicking against the creamy imitation marble floor.

It was coming from behind the partially closed doors leading to the ballroom; the notes faltered a moment, just a moment, as if long enough for a page to be turned, before the keystrokes – for the song, longer now, as if a full version of the original riff had been found, and played on a piano once more – began again, steady and sure.

Selphie pushed the doors open; they creaked a little, announcing her arrival – if, of course, the "Heeeeeey…." she called hadn't already done so.

The figure at the grand piano stopped playing and looked up, chestnut hair flopping over clear blue-grey eyes before being pushed away by long, slender fingers.

"Oh, hey, Seff." Irvine offered a warm smile.

The pixie – almost as tall as Irvine, when he was sitting down – fairly glomped her friend, bumping him with one hip as a request to move over before perching beside him on the black heartwood bench.

"Irvy, how'd you know that song? What is it? Where's it from?"

Irvine laughed, softly, hooking an arm casually around her shoulders, one brow raised to emphasize his question. There was a hint of sadness, to his voice.

"You don't remember? Back at the orphanage?"

"You know I don't remember anything very much.. meanie GFs." Her own voice held the same sadness and regret. _Hyne, it hurts, not being able to remember any of this. It must hurt him, too, to be the only one._

With some prompting from Irvine, a few tears, and the un-Junctioning of Ifrit and Carbuncle, she forced the fog from her mind, and relished in the newfound fragments of her past. For with that memory, came a few others, similar and just as cherished.

Irvine, playing the first few notes of the song, even revoked Selphie's ability to play the first few bars of the melody. Using the sheet work, she learnt a few more, eyes bright.

They talked, for a while, about the memories, but the piano before them eventually brought them back to the original memory.

"I heard that song, another time, when I was.." Selphie paused a moment, thinking, before continuing, "…visiting Galbadia." Selphie commented idly, running her fingers along the keys idly.

_What? _"Really? When?" Irvine sat up straight, watching his friend thoughtfully.

"We… were on a field trip." The brunette spoke slowly, as she pulled the events through a thin layer of GF-induced fog. Remorse flickered through her as she realised that even her more recent memories were fading, and doing so quickly – too quickly. "The guide was soooooooo dull, and we were just talking about whatever. And then I heard this song. It was all lonely, played on a guitar or something. Then it stopped. I got knocked over by…" Her eyes lit up with recognition. "You?"
    
    _Under my feeling under my skin _
    
    _Under the thoughts from within _
    
    _Learning the subtext _
    
    _Of the mind _
    
    _See creation how we're defined_ 

"You.. you were at Galbadia. I think I remember this. You looked so familiar, but I never really thought about it. It wasn't a good memory, really." Irvine's voice was filled with wonder, broken slightly by the tongue he poked out at his friend's mock-hurt filled face. "Then it was fate for sure..twice, we were brought back together. It's a sign, Seff. A /sign/."

Selphie blushed, a little, before giggling and shoving at him playfully. "Silly." She teased, even as she leant into the shelter of his embrace, warm and strong.

"No, really, Seff." The cowboy reached out, with one slender-boned hand – almost effeminate in its grace – to cup her chin, lifting her head up, green meeting grey-blue meeting green…

As if in a trance, he leant forward, to brush his lips against hers. _So beautiful. _His eyes widened almost instantly, a little imperceptibly; the flush rising to his cheeks he covered for by beginning to tickling her, fingers dancing at the shorter girl's ribs nimbly – _like playing a guitar – _and laughing a little nervously. He tried to compose his suddenly jumbled feelings, with little success.

The initial surprise in his best friend's eyes was dulled, replaced by mock-indignation. She squealed, writhing helplessly before falling off the piano stool.__
    
    _Seems I'm lost in my reflection _
    
    _Find a star for my direction _
    
    _For the little girl inside who wont just hide _
    
    _Don't let me see mistakes and lies _
    
    _Let me keep my faith and innocent eyes _

_My innocent eyes_

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Well, that's the end of that for the moment. Review if you'd like to… think I should continue? I will, given enough reason. I've got ideas for another chapter, but.. *shrugs*


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